MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
She was sitting in a dimly lit lab, her hands shaking as she held a vial of dark, swirling fluid.
"Gianna," her image said, her voice a fragile rasp. "If you are seeing this, the Icarus Strain has been deployed. The Shadow Cabinet was always predictable; they were never architects, only saboteurs. They think the virus is a dead end. They think the Shield is the sacrifice. They are wrong."
Nevan stood up on the other side of the glass, his eyes narrowing as he watched the woman who had ruined his life.